Reality

I am really struggling to meet my physical requirements this week. I feel strong and capable but I am having a hard time getting going. I know that the success that I felt so far has been because of my hard work and committment but even that is not pushing me out the door. I have tons of excuses running through my head right but that is all they are, excuses. I am searching for a solution and the only one that is obvious to me right now is to put my shoes on and go for a run. (insert whiny voice...I just don't feel like it!) Well, too bad! This is where the rubber meets the road, literally and figuratively. I am off to run this weirdness out of my head.
Until next week, work hard and have fun.

I'm doing it!

I am beginning to see the results of my hard work and it is a pretty amazing feeling. I keep whispering to myself,"I did this!" and "I'm doing it!". I am completely in awe of the obstacles that I have over come lately. It is one thing to have someone tell you how you need to change in order to take it to the next level, but it is quite another to understand that change and how to make it happen. It is an amazing thing when it happens. I am enjoying figuring these things out and enjoying the results when I do.
Each time that I have a break through, I get so excited and then I go back to working hard and trying to figure something else out. I am totally loving the process right now. It seems to happen the same each time; I chose something to improve, I try to work it out on my own, ask for advice from my mentors, get frustrated because I feel like I am never going to figure it out, ask more questions, and then I get it. I know that as long as I work hard, the results will come. I am looking forward to the next obstacle and all it's challenges.
Until next week, work hard and have fun.

Shift Work and Me

I have worked shift work for my entire career, 22 years, and I think that I have recently begun to figure out how to make it work for me. I have spent most of the time trying to fit into the monday to friday crowd. I have been trying to structure my life to make it as "normal" as everyone else's, or what I thought was normal. Then I tried listening to what my body needed to feel rested and looked after, well, that consisted of sleeping way too much and eating at odd times of the day and night. I have recently (the last couple of years) put myself on a schedule and stuck to it and it is working for me. I work 3 evenings, 3 days and then 3 days off, in a 9 day rotation. I have been getting up at 7:15 am for 6 of those days and then 5:15 am on the 3 day shifts and this has provided the consistency that I had been craving. Of course, I have Kung Fu to thank for this as well. I have been training at the same times consistently for the past couple of years because of my schedule and the desire to have enough time in the day to train. Through this I have discovered a schedule that works best for me and my body. I feel more rested and more looked after than I ever have and I am getting a lot of things accomplished everyday. Not just training but errands and house hold chores as well.
I don't always want to get out of bed at 7:15 am (and sometimes I whine to my friends) when I don't settle until nearly 1:00 am but I feel great when I do. I also am very tired on my third evening shift and actually look forward to getting up at 5:15 am and feeling more normal ( never thought that I would say that!). It is not a perfect system but it is perfect for me. It works for me to start my day around the same time each day and end it as close to the same time as I can each day. I think that I have grown used to the level of tiredness that I tolerate each day and if I stop and think about it too much then I don't get anything done.
I put this out there because I know that there are a lot more people these days that work shift work and I just wanted to say that it is doable, you just have to keep trying stuff.
Until next week, work hard and have fun.

Time to turn it up!

Fitness, fitness and more fitness! I love to work out, I enjoy pushing myself and it is time that I did exactly that. It is time to crank it up. There are four months until the black belt grading and I need to be in the best shape of my life, I am ready for that. I think that I am in pretty good shape right now as I have been working hard for the past two years, I know that I can do better. I am going to increase my running in improve my endurance and recovery time, I am going to increase the time I spend on forms to improve the details that I need to pay attention to and I am going to spend more time on techniques with my training partners in order to increase the flow and accuracy. That is my big plan for the next four months.....Crank it up!!